Man jailed after impersonating voter

A man from Oldham has been sentenced to three months in jail for election impersonation. Adeel Hanif , aged 19 of Villa Road in Oldham pleaded guilty to the offence at Minshull Street Crown Court last month.

On 4 May 2006 polling stations throughout Oldham officially opened for members of the public to vote in the local council elections.

At 9.30pm that evening officers were informed that a member of the public had turned up at a polling station at Coppice Junior School in the Medlock Vale Ward and had been unable to vote as his vote had already been used.

Police later went to the Elections Office and seized the tendered ballot list for that particular ward, before obtaining a court order to seize all ballot papers and stubs. Officers took the victim's fingerprints and compared them to those found on the ballot paper in his name. They did not match.

The defendant's fingerprints were found on the ballot paper and he was later summonsed to court on suspicion of election impersonation.

Sergeant Terence Broome from Oldham police said: "We work very closely with the council and the eections office to ensure that elections within Greater Manchester are run fairly.

"We investigate all allegations of fraudulent activity thoroughly and take positive steps to counteract it.

"Hanif went into the polling station that day with the intent of depriving another member of the public of their right to vote.

"Today's conviction highlights that we can, and will, take action against those people who seek to undermine the election process. I hope that this acts as a firm deterrent to others who might mistakenly think it is possible to dupe the authorities in this way."